


Safe Haven

by afteriwake



Category: Firefly, Serenity (2005)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-18
Updated: 2012-09-18
Packaged: 2017-11-14 12:36:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/515305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/pseuds/afteriwake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Operative knew he'd see Malcolm Reynolds again one day. He hadn't expected it to be under these circumstances, however.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Safe Haven

He had known that one day their paths would cross again. Even though he had told the good captain otherwise, he knew somewhere deep inside that Malcolm Reynolds would be a man he would see again in the future.

He had not expected it to be under these circumstances, however. He had envisioned the gun being drawn and pointed at him, that much he had realized would be a reality. But he had not expected to be on this moon ever again, not after the fateful day where his unwavering loyalty to the Alliance had been shattered.

He knew that after the death of Mr. Universe, Mal and his crew had made this place into a sanctuary of sorts. First for themselves, then for others who needed a place of safety. Slowly, over the years, a community had grown, a community not unlike Haven, he reflected. It was not a large community, but it was thriving away from the core planets. They had somehow managed to run themselves the way the Alliance should have been able to run itself.

Now, it was too late. And the Operative hoped that he could prevent what happened to the core planets from happening here.

"Told you if I ever saw you again..." Mal began.

"I come with news."

Mal didn't lower the gun, but he did change his posture and position slightly. "I'm listening."

"It's all over. The Alliance is finished."

"Is that a fact now?" Mal replied. "Why does that matter to us?"

"Anarchy, Captain Reynolds. The central planets are being consumed and destroyed by people who are tired of the societal strictures that the Alliance imposed on them."

"'Bout time," Mal said with a slight nod.

The Operative paused. "Eventually people will find this moon. They will come here and they will try and take it from you. By force, by guile..."

"Let them try," Mal said coldly.

"I come to offer my help."

Mal looked surprised. You had to watch him carefully to know, however. His eyes widened only slightly, and his shoulders only moved up a quarter of an inch at most. But the most visible sign, at least to him, was that Mal loosened his grip on the gun. "What kinda help can _you_ offer?" As if he had noticed his own loosened grip, he tightened it again. "And why do you even care?"

"I'm not sure," he said slowly. "I just know that...I believe I owe you something."

"You owe me nothing," Mal said. "You let us go. You fixed the ship."

"But I still feel that I owe you something."

The two men stared at each other for a few moments before Mal lowered his gun. "Let's see just what you can do to repay that debt you feel you owe."

\---

"What happened?" Zoe asked. She eyed the Operative warily. He realized that while he knew each of the people on this ship by name and sight, only Mal and Inara had ever met him face to face. And given the nature of their previous encounters, he knew she had every right to be wary.

"Rebellion. Reavers."

"Thought all the Reavers got killed," Kaylee said. "Thought River and the Alliance took care of that."

"No. The ones who were left were well hidden," the Operative said. "They may not have been the most logical of thinkers at the time, but when they realized that they were all that was left they knew they had to make a stand."

"We'd heard about the increase in attacks from some of the people here," Inara said as she took a sip of the tea she had poured for herself and the Operative, who had been the only other person who wanted it. "Refugees from decimated moons and outlying planets."

"They crept closer and closer to the core planets until they made a final push. Their numbers had increased, and apparently something had happened to make them more...aware."

"You mean you reckon they got smart?" Jayne asked. He didn't look up from the gun he was cleaning.

"Evoloution, most likely. The effects of the chemicals that turned them into those...monsters...may have evolved and changed how they made more of their kind. They seemed more intelligent in a way. More logical, at the very least." The Operative shook his head. "The Alliance was able to beat them and destroy the last of them, but it came at a price."

"Persephone," Mal said darkly.

The Operative nodded. "When the destruction of the planet was ordered, that marked the end of the Alliance's power. When citizens realized that their very lives could be snatched away by their government for reasons they didn't understand, rebellions began, mostly on Londinium. It soon spread throughout the core planets."

"And now the Alliance is gone and the core planets are in chaos," Simon said with a sigh.

"Precisely." The Operative took a sip of his tea. "I am here to warn you and to offer my help. There have already been people who have left the core planets with the sole intent of taking over smaller planets or moons and making their own governments, regardless of whatever system is in place at the time."

"We thank you for your warning, but we can take care of ourselves," Mal said.

"I don't think we can."

All the heads turned to River, who had entered the dining area from the cockpit area. "Why not?" Jayne asked.

"He knows," she said, nodding towards the Operative.

"Well? What's she talkin' about?" Mal asked.

"You don't have the resources to protect this moon, or at least the part which you inhabit," the Operative said. "I have some of those resources."

"What's it gonna cost?" Zoe asked.

"Safe haven for me and those I bring with me," he said simply.

"And just who are you bringing with you?" Mal asked.

"Other people who were disillusioned with what happened on Miranda. Some are from the Alliance, some aren't. But there's enough people trained in fighting that--"

Mal held up his hand. "Don't want no more bloodshed. Don't need it, not to keep us safe. People want their own little part of this moon, they can have it." Then he turned to the Operative. "But about that safe haven...who many people you reckon you got with you?"

"A hundred, more or less."

"Any of them got skills?"

"Many are skilled, in many different things," the Operative said with a nod.

Mal was quiet for a rather long time. Then he sighed. "Might as well let them know they can stay."

The Operative smiled, something that he knew probably looked unnatural on his face. "I will let them know."

"You do that. For now, though, you and your people make your home next to what we already got running."

The Operative nodded. "We will help the people in this community any way we can."

"We'll see about that," Mal said with a nod. Then he got up and headed towzards the counter. "Got a question for you."

"Yes?" the Operative asked.

"These people you got with you. How'd you find them?"

He was quiet for a moment. "I traveled the core planets. Listened to the people I met. Then one group of people I met decided to try their luck elsewhere when the Reavers started in on the core planets. They invited me to join them. Soon we picked up more ships to travel with us."

"And you trust them?" Zoe asked.

"Yes, I do," he replied.

Zoe looked at him hard. "Now we just need to see if we can trust _you_."

"I assure you, I will do everything I can to make sure these people are safe," he replied. "I hope to earn your trust by actions, not by words."

"We'll see," Mal said. "Go. Let them know they can start getting settled."

The operative set his cup in its saucer and rose. "Thank you, Captain Reynolds."

Mal grunted slightly in acknowledgement of the thanks. The Operative took this as his cue to leave, and as Inara guided him back to the cargo bay, he knew that Mal's eyes never left him. And he hoped that those eyes would keep watch over all of the people there, and be observant to the changes that he now knew were coming to this place.


End file.
